I Always Come Back
by Virgo girl 14
Summary: Set 3 years after 5x05. Amy has left life with the Doctor, struggling to bring up hers and Rory's daughter alone. The Doctor appears sometime soon.
1. Chapter 1

**This was a spur of the moment thing really, plot bunnies came to my head seeing pics for the episode Amy's Choice which won't be aired until next saturday, but ah well :P Anyhow, this fic is set 3 years after Amy said goodbye to the TARDIS after she made the pass at the Doctor.**

**I do not own Doctor Who... though I'd much rather like to own Matt Smith... and Karen Gillan too :P**

-Chapter one-

Three years. Three years since all of those amazing, wonderful, breathtaking adventures. Starship UK, Churchill, Daleks, Weeping Angels, Vampires… so much more than she could possibly imagine.

Amy Pond was putting her sleeping two year old daughter in her own bed for the night when the memories struck. She gently pressed a kiss to the young girl's forehead and walked out of the room with a soft "I love you" and quietly closed the door. The light outside the room caught the diamond on her left hand and her eyes darted toward the sparkle.

She'd yet again put the wedding on hold, still hoping, still wishing for her Doctor to come and take her away again. She loved Rory dearly, of course she did, but that teenaged love had diminished. To her, he was more like a best friend now, rather than a boyfriend, fiancée, or husband. That feeling only strengthened when after her daughter was born, Rory spent more time at work. She'd convinced herself for the first year of her daughter's life, that he was trying to do his best for the family. Now… she just thought he was avoiding her and their child.

She ran her hand through her dark red curls, sighing tiredly. She walked into the living room and quietly picked up the toys left on the floor and put them in the toy hamper next to the sofa. She closed her eyes briefly to shake her head and clear her head of the memories, before opening them and walking into the bedroom, and she fell on to her bed, closing her eyes for the final time that night.

The next morning, Amy woke to the slight jumping of the mattress beneath her and she slowly opened her eyes to see a small girl with a lighter shade of her red hair bouncing up and down beside her, repeatedly saying "Mummy! Mummy!" while grinning.

"Grace please don't jump on the bed. You'll fall off and hurt yourself." Amy said softly.

"Okay." Grace said and suddenly stopped, grabbing the sheets in her tiny hands to keep her balance. "You dreamed about your friend again mummy."

Amy sighed softly. She had of course dreamed of the fantastic time she'd had with the Doctor. She'd long gotten over her daughter's unique, uncanny ability to see into her dreams. She still didn't know how Grace came to have it, but she wasn't as worried as she had been when she first told her what she'd dreamed.

"Where's daddy?" Grace asked.

Damn it. The one question she was dreading. She looked over to the side, to his side of the bed. It looked as though he hadn't come back in the night. And grace had only been jumping in one place. "I don't know." she answered truthfully. "Go on, pick out what you want to wear for nursery and pick out your toy."

Grace nodded, slid down off the bed and ran off to her bedroom.

Amy sighed heavily and picked up her phone, calling Rory and waited for him to answer.

"Is your daughter going to see you at some point today?" she asked when he answered the phone.

"Amy I can't talk now." Rory said.

"You never can. I miss you… we both do…" Amy sighed. "Where are you?"

"I'm at work." he answered.

"Okay, well I'm phoning your superior, and getting him to let you go early today."

"No… Amy you don't want to bother him… he's a busy man…"

"And you have a family. Or do the vows you're going to say next month and your child mean nothing to you?" Amy blinked the tears from her eyes.

"I'm not listening to this." Rory said and hung up.

"Damn it!" Amy hissed, throwing the phone down to the bed and put her head in her hands taking deep, calming breaths.

"Mummy…?"

Amy looked over to see Grace standing in the doorway holding her pink teddy in one hand and her pink princess dress in the other. Amy forced a smile and got up off the bed and walked with her back into her room and she dressed her.

She was sat on the floor with Grace brushing through the long red curls into a ponytail when the home phone decided to ring.

"Wait there." she told Grace gently and got up, walking into the living room and answered the phone.

"Hello?" she said.

Silence on the line.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

The person on the other end hung up.

"Whatever…" she muttered, replacing the phone back on the holder, walking to her bedroom to get herself dressed into an old pair of black jeans and a blue blouse, brushed through her own hair and threw it into a messy ponytail and walked back into Grace's room and picked her up into her arms. She carried her into the kitchen, setting her down on the chair at the table.

Once Amy had given Grace her breakfast, she helped her put her shoes and coat on before putting her own on.

Meanwhile, Grace had slid down the stairs on her bottom and clambered into her pushchair unhurt, and she put teddy in her lap, looking up at the stairs waiting for her mother.

Amy looked around her, looking for Grace. "Grace wher-" she cut off, looking down the stairs and into the waiting pushchair. She rushed down the stairs, smiling down at her. "Next time you wait for me, alright. You could have fallen and hurt yourself." she told her softly. "Are you going to walk home when I come to pick you up later on?"

Grace nodded, looking up sweetly at her and then pouting down at teddy.

Amy laughed softly, and opened the door, pushing the pushchair out of it and shut the door behind her, slipping the bag with a change of clothes over the handle.

She dropped Grace off at the nursery, handing the bag to one of the nursery staff and kissing Grace on the forehead before Grace ran off to the toys and her friends.

The nursery supervisor, a kind woman, walked over to Amy, smiling at her as she watched her fold the pushchair. "Amelia… have you spoken to Rory since our last chat?"

Amy shook her head. "He hasn't come back for the past couple of nights…"

"Well he needs to speak to you soon love, because it's affecting Grace whatever it is that's going on."

"I know it is… it's up to him to make the effort now. I'm done. Anyway, I'll pick her up later… speak to you soon…" Amy said and carried the folded up pushchair back through the village of Leadworth. She could feel people staring at her as she walked, and she fidgeted uncomfortably. People hadn't taken lightly to the fact she worked as a kissogram, and they all felt she didn't deserve to be a mother. She blamed Rory for telling the whole village in a fit of anger. Her aunt, her only living relative had disowned her, and now she and Grace were alone in the world.

She kept her gaze to the floor as she hurried back home, not lifting her gaze until she was safe inside her home.

"I can't do this alone…" she sighed heavily, throwing the folded pushchair down and she kicked the door shut behind her and she walked up the stairs, and into her bedroom, throwing the wardrobe doors open, looking at the outfits she'd worn for work before she had Grace.

"Sorry Rory, but it has to be done." she ,uttered, pulling out a random outfit as well as her phone from her pocket calling one of her friends. "Get yourself ready for later. Amy Pond is back in business."

The voice on the other end laughed. "Good girl!" the woman said.

"Well Marie, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. Stuff what Rory said. Stuff what everyone else thinks."

"Yeah. If he can spend 24/7 at the hospital, why can't you do something you love?"

"Exactly." Amy laughed. "D'you think Jeff could take Grace for me?"

"Yeah course. Just bring her over when you pick her up and we'll go. Oh, and grab your police outfit."

"Already got it." Amy smirked, "Right, I'll talk later. Gonna sort out the house and get ready."

"See you in a couple of hours." Marie said and hung up.

True to her word, Amy spent the time getting the house cleaned and then got herself ready. Her ginger curled pinned to the back of her head, the outfit was on, the make up was done, and she walked out of the house, locking the door behind her and she walked to the nursery to pick Grace up, ignoring the strange but familiar metallic whirring sounds echoing.

"Mummy!" Grace giggled with delight as she saw her, and ran to her.

Amy laughed and picked her up. "Did you have fun?" she asked, consciously making sure her skirt was pulled back down.

"Yep, me and Mya played in the big dolls' house all day and…" she trailed off, looking over her mother's shoulder.

"And what?" Amy asked.

"Mummy look. Grace pointed.

Amy looked around in the direction she was pointing, to see that same old strange man who she'd once kissed, still felt for. And he was still wearing that ridiculous bow tie.

**Hope it was alright. Plot bunnies are attacking again and wish to know if there should be more. There's cookies in it for you if you review**


	2. Chapter 2

With his keen hearing, the Doctor heard what Grace had said, and he looked at the little girl and Amy with wide, shocked eyes. His jaw dropped and he took a step toward them slowly, speechless for once. _'No… I made sure of it that I'd be no longer than 10 minutes! How is this possible!' _he thought.

Amy turned away from him and walked away from him back in the direction of her home, momentarily forgetting that she had to drop Grace off at Marie's.

He shook himself out of his shock. "Amy!" he called after her when he found his voice and ran after her. "Amy please!"

She carried on for a short distance before stopping. "What?" she asked as she spun around looking at him, her eyes blazing in anger.

"How long…?" he asked, his eyes still wide.

"Three years." she answered.

"And…" he nodded toward Grace.

"Yes she's mine and Rory's." she answered and she turned back and rounded the corner, and walked back through the garden to get to her home. She knew the Doctor would do one of two things. Either; follow her or leave her again.

Before they reached the front door, Grace suddenly gasped. "Mummy! I left teddy in my drawer at nurs'ry!"

"It'll be there in the morning sweetie, I'll remember to tell you tomorrow to pick it up." Amy smiled as she opened the door and walked inside, leaving the door open as she carried her up the stairs.

She wasn't too surprised to hear the door shut behind her and another set of footsteps following her up. She set Grace in the living room, bringing out the toy hamper and switching the T.V on for her to a children's channel and she walked into the kitchen. She saw the Doctor already making himself at home with a bowl in one arm, a box of fish fingers inside it and he was looking through the cupboards.

As much as she tried, she couldn't stay mad at him for too long. But he'd left her for three years so she at least had the right to try. But at that moment, all her anger had drained away within seconds. "We don't have any custard."

"Oh, well that's no fun, Pond." the Doctor pouted, placing the bowl back on the side and turning to face her "Or is it Williams now?"

"No, still Pond. Though I'm actually wondering if I'm really who he wants." she shrugged.

"Why?" he looked confused.

"Cause he's never here." she looked at him. "And as she's getting older the questions are coming and she keeps asking after him." she bit her lip.

"So you're doing it on your own." he nodded. "Well if it makes you feel any better, she looks fine and happy and healthy. And content. So you must be doing something right."

She gave a small smile. "Thanks…" she said. _'Maybe Rory found a backbone, found someone prettier… someone who isn't gonna tie him down with a kid… someone who wouldn't walk all over him like I have…' _she thought.

"No I mean it." he smiled softly at her.

"Why did you leave?" she asked changing the subject. "10 minutes you promised. I was all set and was gonna give Rory back the ring tell him to find someone better and I was gonna go with you."

"You couldn't at that moment Amy." he told her, the smile long dropped from his face.

"But why?" she pressed. "You didn't want me…" she said when he didn't answer her.

"No… Amy that wasn't- isn't it." he told her, looking at her.

"Then what…?" she whispered.

"I had to go back into your past… try and sort out the cracks in your time line. I meant to come back 10 minutes later. But the TARDIS… she's an old girl now… very temperamental, so timing's always going to be a little bit off." he explained.

"But three years!"

"And you can't cross your own time line otherwise you'll cause the end of the universe. And I know you wouldn't do such a thing Pond." he finished as though she hadn't spoken.

Any shook her head and sighed. "No… I wouldn't…" she muttered.

"So… is it too soon to ask for a hug yet?" he questioned with a cheeky grin.

Amy took one look at him, tried to glare and scowl at him, and ended up laughing, closing the distance between them in a few steps and she wrapped her arms around his middle.

He grinned and wound his arms around her back, resting his chin easily on her shoulder as she buried her head into his own shoulder.

They both stayed there for a few quiet moments until the phone decided to ring, followed by Grace's shouting "Mummy the phone's ringing!"

Amy sighed and pulled herself away, and walked into the living room. She picked up the phone. "Hello?" she said. "Rory.. What are you talking about? If you're going to be all jealous I'll hang up and ignore you. Thank you." she sighed. "Yes he is back and yes me and Grace might just go with him. Yeah well that tells you something don't it. The fact you don't even know your daughter's name." she hung up with a heavy sigh. She looked over at Grace, who looked as though she hadn't heard a thing, playing happily with her dolls while some mindless children's show was on. She knelt down, kissed her on the head and got up, walking back out of the room straight into the Doctor. "That was Rory." she said.

"What did he want?" he asked.

"Just being jealous… he didn't even remember her name…" she sighed again and something clicked in her head. "I'm supposed to be going to work."

He looked over her appearance for the first time. Of course… "Well… I'll look after her while you go…?" he suggested.

"No… you just got here… I couldn't ask that of you…"

"You can. I'm offering." he told her.

She nodded. She'd trust him with her life. In fact she had to at some point. She could surely trust him with her daughter. "Okay." she said, and before she could say anything else, he'd walked into the living room and she was sat in front of Grace joining in with her playing. She laughed softly, Grace was all too happy to have someone else to join in with her games.

"Alright I'm just going out for a bit." she said, walking in and kissed her on the head again. "Behave and I want the house standing in one piece and everything in it in one piece when I get back."

"I'm always good mummy." Grace giggled.

"I wasn't talking about you." she smirked.

"I'm not that bad Pond." he pouted. "Yeah alright… maybe a little bit." he said after a look from his fiery companion.

Amy laughed and walked out, walking down the stairs and out of the house and to where she was supposed to meet Marie.

"What took you so long? I was about to come looking for you!" Marie said.

"I had to deal with… something." Amy said.

"You can give me the gossip later. Come on." Marie grabbed Amy by the arm. Amy laughed and pulled her arm free.

"Alright don't pull my arm out its socket!" she grinned.

While Amy and Marie were working, Grace looked up at the strange man willing to play suck childish games.

"Mummy dreams about you." she told him. "And the things you did together."

The Doctor looked over at the young child, so mentally ready beyond her years, quizzically. "How do you know? Does she tell you in her stories?" he asked with a smile, humouring her. She really was Amy Pond's child. Always so outright and not afraid to ask questions or to say things. And she definitely wasn't afraid of the stranger she saw in her mother's dreams.

Grace shook her head, her auburn curls springing around her face. "Nope. I see it in her dreams." she said, dropping her doll and started to clamber up on the sofa.

"How do you see into her dreams?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure she hasn't just.. told you?"

"No! I see it!" she was adamant of this fact. "Sometimes when she falls asleep before me or when I wake up in the night I see the pictures in my head." she told him as she curled up on the cushion and she closed her eyes.

He watched her silently, taking it all in, and waited for her to fall asleep. He didn't have to wait too long though, and he got out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her with it, and he checked the readings. "Ooh… that is extremely very not good…" he muttered. "Still… explained why you're more developed in the mind than any other two year old…" he added. "Oh, Amy I'm so sorry…"

A couple of hours later, Amy walked back into the house. She walked up the stairs to the living room, and they were both where she'd left them, only Grace was sleeping on the sofa. "How was she?" she asked.

He nodded. "She's been alright. Look, Amy there's something I have to say. And it's to do wit her." he said, standing up.

Amy looked confused.

"Amy… this dream watching thing… it's not normal. And sometimes human children who possess the gift don't live past the age of three. And it's usually passed off as something else, like natural causes or whatever." he looked at her.

"No…" she whispered, dropping to the floor after her legs turned to water.

He rushed to her side and knelt down beside her and held her close.

Amy clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder.

He rubbed her back softly, keeping her close and whispering soothing words into her ear, sneaking a glance back over at the sleeping child who's life was in danger. And he needed to save her. For Amy's sake rather than his own.

* * *

A/N: Well there's chapter two :o Well... y'know what you get if you review. Fish custard ;) x


	3. Chapter 3

Amy's fear turned to desperation within a couple of hours, and she forced herself to look at him. "You have to save her." she told him.

"I'll try everything I can, Amy." he said softly.

"No… you have to." she continued to stare at him, her green/blue eyes hard with fear and desperation. "She has become the point of me…. Not something I thought I'd hear myself say… but she is the only good, permanent fixture in my life."

He looked at her. He understood it… of course he did… all of his children back of Galllifrey… Jenny whom he'd left on Messalinee… the want - no - the need to protect and love and care for the life you brought into the world. He took another look at Grace and nodded. "I know she is… believe me I know what you're feeling now more than anyone else in your life or on this planet…" he said softly, returning his gaze back to Amy, seeing the red-head's tormented gaze now fixed on her child. And that was his fault. "Amy. Amelia look at me."

Amy reluctantly tore her gaze away from Grace, staring at her Raggedy man… he had to make it alright. He made everything alright. "Please make it okay…" she whispered.

The Doctor reached over and took hold of her hands. "Amelia listen to le. She's going to be alright, as soon as I know exactly how she got it. Once I know I can do everything I can to save her."

"Promise me…" she pleaded.

He looked at her. He shouldn't, he knew he shouldn't but before he could stop himself, he said it. "I promise. "

Amy sighed and hugged him tightly.

He closed his eyes and held her close to him. "Mad, impossible Amy Pond.." he spoke softly.

"What about her…?"

"Something's happened. To you." he said. "You wouldn't have broke down just like that…"

"I've just been told my child could die. How do you expect me to react?"

"I know… But you faced with a tough decision… you put on this strong, fierce front to hide the vulnerability beneath it all and some how that's been taken away, and all that's left is the shell. You're not Amy right now you're a scared girl who thinks she's alone in the world once more."

She looked at him. She forgot how much he actually saw, and she sighed softly. "Being left to do the hard work makes you think differently."

"Not that much differently, Amelia. I've known people to do all that and they still have a gob on them." he thought of Jackie Tyler. By Rassilon she could shout, and her slaps hurt a lot too.

"Who did you know?" she asked.

"Before I regenerated-"

"What?" Amy looked confused.

"I didn't always look like this. When I die every cell in my body changes. New face same man." he said, cutting it all into something Amy could understand.

She nodded, getting it. "Carry on."

"In my other regeneration I had a friend, and she was brought up by only her mum. And she turned out to be amazing, and her mother mostly hated me, but had to put up with me." he smirked. "And she slapped. A lot. And hard."

Amy laughed. "So you're scared of your friend's mother?"

"Yes I am. She's frightening." he laughed a little, happy he'd at least made her laugh.

"So if I start slapping you-"

"Yes I'd be scared of you." he smirked. "Any normal man would be, Pond."

She grinned. Her new torture guinea pig. Her Raggedy Doctor. "But you're not normal."

"I know, Pond. But I'm still male." he raised an eyebrow.

"I could always check to make sure?" she teased, grinning.

"Not in your life time Pond." he smirked. "Don't need to anyway, look at me."

"Alright fair point." she laughed.

"The answer's no, Pond."

"To what?" she tried an innocent look.

"To becoming your guinea pig."

"Would I ever do a thing like that?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, you're right I would." she laughed.

"Mummy…" came the tiny voice from the sofa.

Amy's head whipped around toward Grace, the source of the tiny voice and she quickly moved over to her, cuddling her close. "I'm here." she said softly.

"Mummy? What's a Nestine?"

Amy looked over at the Doctor.

'_It's starting, and we need to act fast… looks like it's going to happen earlier than I originally planned and thought…_' he thought, and he sprung into action. "Never mind that, I'll explain when you're old enough not to want to crawl into mummy's bed after a nightmare." he grinned at his two favourite girls. No… They weren't his… They were Rory's…

Grace grinned adorably up at him over Amy's shoulder, and just one look and it was hard not to fall completely in love with the child who could wind you around her little finger as easily as she might breathe.

"How about I take you both on a brand new adventure?" he looked to Amy. "No danger, promise."

Amy grinned, eventually letting her wriggling two you old go, and then laughed softly when Grace slid off the sofa and ran out of the room. "What's the plan?" Amy looked at him.

"Get her in the TARDIS, the TARDIS with do regular scans automatically and will let me know the results in my head and help me to know what to do." he looked back at her.

Amy laughed again. "I bloody love you." she stood up.

The Doctor took a step back, causing her to laugh again.

"I'm not gonna jump you." she smirked.

"Good." he nodded.

"Yet." she finished and walked out the room leaving a stunned Doctor behind her.

He took a few moments to find his voice and he turned, talking out of the living room. "Come on!" he called.

Grace bounded out of her room with her rag doll in tow, behind held by one stuffed arm clasped in the girl's small hand. Amy peered around her bedroom doorway, smirking.

"You can wait." she told him and ducked back inside, emerging after 10 minutes in a pale blue mid-thigh length dress. "Right, I'm done."

He grinned at her. "Are you ready now?"

"Yes." she nodded and picked up Grace in her arms and she walked out with the Doctor, walking out the house to the TARDIS.


	4. Chapter 4

"It's bigger than what's in your dreams, mummy." Grace said once Amy had sat on the jumpseat and placed her on her lap.

The Doctor knelt at the side of Amy and looked at Grace. "Well, Grace, we're going to figure our why you can see into your mum's dreams." he told her gently.

"How come?" Grace asked.

"Just so we can understand it better." he told her. '_There we go… little white lies never hurt anyone…' _he thought. No point in scaring the poor child with the fact she might die.

No. There'd be no more death plaguing his loved ones, not while he was still living and breathing. He loved Amy more than he dared to let on, and little Grace was growing on him quicker than little Amelia Pond had.

"Lead the way to the library then. Or is there still a swimming pool in there?" Amy grinned while Grace reached over and clambered onto his shoulders.

He shrugged slightly and shook his head. "No idea. Haven't looked yet. Come along, Pond." he grinned and clamped his hands down onto Grace's ankles so she didn't fall off him and he stood up.

Amy jumped up again, grinning at her giggling two year old.

He walked with Amy in search of the library, Grace still giggling and babbling away about nothing, keeping her hands clamped into his thick messy hair.

Amy looked at them both, smiling as she walked.

After a silent half an hour, looking through doors, they came across a games room, a few bedrooms that still housed previous companions' belongings and was left they way the previous occupyers had left them, a huge bathroom, a garden, and finally the library, and there wasn't a swimming pool in sight.

Shelves seemed to emerge from the sides of the walls, shelves that weren't there before and added to the ones dotted around the vast room, also dotted around the room were some tables and chairs.

The Doctor knelt on the floor, let go of Grace and let her climb down to the floor, and he jumped up again.

"Come on, old girl, help up out." he muttered, walking with Amy, leaving the child to her own devices.

He felt the usual nudging of his mind of the TARDIS giving him direction on where to find the book he needed.

Eventually they found what they were ooking for, and the Doctor pulled out a very old, very dusty copy of something Amy couldn't read.

"What's it called? And why's the cover written in circles?" she asked.

"That's my home planet's language. Gallifreyan. I haven't looked at this book for quite a few lifetimes…" he rambled.

"Doctor. Title. Book. Now." Amy smirked, cutting his ramblings short.

"That doesn't matter right now. All that matters is that it can give us-well-me information on what to do about her." he told her and began to look through the book.

Amy sighed softly and waited for him to find something worth telling her. She looked over at Grace, playing so innocently with something she found in the corner of the room.

"Go over to her."

Amy looked at the Doctor.

"Well it saves you being bored say here and worrying."

She nodded at his logic and she stood up walking over to Grace. "What you got there?" she asked, sitting by her.

Grace held up the ball she'd been playing with. "Want to see what it does?" she asked.

"Go on then." Amy smiled at her, watching her shake the ball and it lit up flashing all different colours and it shook in the child's hands.

"It tickles my hands, mummy" Grace giggled.

"Does it?" Amy questioned, going along with her daughter's humour.

Grace nodded and held it out to her once it stopped shaking.

"Want me to try?"

Grace nodded once more, grinning.

Amy took the ball from her and shook it, causing it to light up and shake once more. "It does tickle doesn't it." she smiled.

Grace stood up and fell forward against her mother, her small arms around her neck.

Amy put the ball on the floor and hugged her close to her chest.

"Love you mummy."

"I love you too." Amy said softly.

The Doctor watched them both silently, a smile on his face. Everything was going to be fine. He'd make sure of it.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry it's taken so long guys, I've had a mind block for some time, and working on other stories hasn't really helped either... enjoy xx

Amy stayed with her daughter until she had fallen asleep in her arms.

"The TARDIS has moved a room for you. It's just through that door." The Doctor said softly. "You should get some rest too."

"But we need to find out what's wrong with her." Amy said, looking up at him as she stood slowly with Grace in her arms.

"I'm going to take you to the planet Caduceus. It's an entire planet dedicated to medicine and helping those who need it." The Doctor said. "They'll be able to help her. The Dean of the whole system owes me a favour anyway. Now go and get some rest. You look like you need it."

Amy nodded, giving in and she walked out of the library into the room the TARDIS had moved for her.

The Doctor sighed heavily and he walked out to the TARDIS console, alone with his thoughts.

He was messing about underneath the console some time later by the time Amy awoke and made her way out of the room toward the console. "Amy!" he called when he spotted her.

Amy walked down the stairs and sat on the bottom step, looking at him. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just making a few adjustments, making sure she's still running fine." The Doctor said looking at her. "I was thinking before I take you to Caduceus, we could go to Nativitatus, which is Christmas in Latin. It's literally the home planet of the real Saint Nicholas." he grinned like a child.

"You want to go and meet Father Christmas?" Amy rose an eyebrow, a smile on her face.

"Grace can come too." He grinned at her. "It can be a little surprise for her."

Amy nodded after a moments' thought. "Alright then." She had long given up on being shocked at things beyond her imagination being real, why should a real Santa Claus be any different?

"Right, that's settled. You go get her and yourself ready, and I'll take us to Nativitatis." The Doctor said, standing up, Amy stood up with him and walked up the stairs, followed closely by The Doctor.

Amy walked off to her room to wake Grace up and help her get ready.

"Where did he say we were going, mummy?" Grace asked while Amy brushed her hair.

"That is a very big surprise." Amy smiled as her daughter stood and turned to face her, her expression full of childish wonder and excitement. Amy stood and wa;led with Grace to where the Doctor was waiting for them.

"Are we ready?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah, I think we are." Amy smiled.

The Doctor walked to a coat stand that was stood just behind the spiral stairs and pulled out two coats, handing them to Amy. "You'll need them." he grinned.

Amy smiled and started to help Grace into her coat, but the young girl insisted that she was a big girl now and could do it by herself.

The Doctor couldn't help but laugh. "Just like you."

Amy just laughed and put her own coat on, and picked Grace up, and she walked out with the Doctor on to a new, snowy white planet.

At the brand new sight, Grace struggled in her mother's arms, wanting to be put down.

Amy put her down carefully, watching as Grace scooped up the snow in her bare, now bright pink hands.

Grace then threw the snow at the Doctor, which hit him on the back of the legs-he was only a foot away from her- and she giggled.

The Doctor turned, raised a boot and lightly kicked a small clump of snow in the child's direction, causing her to collapse to the floor in shrieking laughter.

Amy laughed, watching the scene in front of her.

"Think you could make a snow angel, Pond?" The Doctor smirked, looking at Amy.

"Yes, but I'm not going to." Amy responded.

"Go on! It's fun!" he smirked, grabbing hold of her arm.

"No!" Amy laughed, struggling to break free.

"Do it, mummy" Grace giggled. "Please!"

"Yeah come on!"

"Alright!" Amy laughed, ripping her arm from the strange man;s grasp and lay on the cold ground, proceeding to create the damned snow angel, before being helped up by the Doctor. "There." she smirked, pointing at her own masterpiece.

"Very good Pond." The Doctor commented with a smirk.

Amy didn't respond, busying herself with getting the snow out of her hair and off her clothes.

"Mummy look!" Grace pointed ahead. "Santa!"

Amy looked up with a smile. "Yeah that looks like him." she nodded.

"Are we going to see Santa? Is this his home?" Grace asked with childish excitement.

"Yes we are, Grace. Might see Rudolph and his other reindeer too." The Doctor grinned, scooping the child in his arms and put her on his shoulders before he and Amy walked to where the red-suited figure of Santa Clause stood.

"Here he is, good old Nick himself." The Doctor beamed.

"Back so soon, Doctor?" old Saint Nick commented. "And who might this special little girl be?"

"Grace." Grace answered for herself. "Are you really Santa?"

The jolly old man laughed. "You're a very inquisitive little girl aren't you? Yes I am Santa Clause. Have you been a good girl for your mummy and daddy?"

"Yep! I am a very good girl in school, and I can put my shoes on the right feet without help and I eat all my dinner!" Grace grinned proudly.

"My, you have been a good little girl haven't you." Santa praised.

"I'm not little! I'm a big girl now!" Grace said indignantly, though coming from a three-year-old, it was extremely cute and adorable.

"Grace!" Amy chastised.

"Don't you lose that fiery spirit, young Grace. That will get you far, just like your mummy."

Amy smiled, and Grace just giggled and nodded.

"What would a special young lady like you like for Christmas?" Santa asked.

"I would like a dollies house please. My dollies don't have a home." Grace pouted.

"Then that's what will be waiting for you under your tree on Christmas morning if you continue to be a good girl. I'll tell my elves to make it right away." Samta smiled.

"Thank you." Grace smiled.

"And make sure you stay on my nice list, remember, I see everything all the children do that is good and bad."

"What do the bad children get?" Amy asked.

"The children that have been very, very naughtydon't get any presents, because they have been so naughty they don't deserve nice presents."

Grace gave a small gasp and stuck out her bottom lip.

"And how do you get to all the children in one night?" Amy asked.

"My sleigh is magical."

"How?" Grace asked.

"That I cannot tell you because it's a secret." Samta smiled. "Now I must go and feed my reindeer and help my elves. Goodbye."

Grace waved and yelled; "Bye Santa!" at the top of her voice as the man walked away.

The Doctor and Amy smiled at each other and walked back to the TARDIS, where he put Grace down on the ground once they were inside.

Grace wandered over to the central console and started poking at things in her reach.

"I know the secret." he grinned

"Tell me then." Amy smirked.

He leaned forward and whispered in her ear.

"No!" Amy laughed and picked Grace up, then grabbed a hold of a rail nearby.

"Yep!" The Doctor smirked and sent the TARDIS into flight for the planet Caduceus.

A/N: and yes, it's March.. and it's been quite a while since I went and visited Santa... :')


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Sorry for the late update xx

Amy stood watching Grace sleep, too terrified to leave her, even if she was "safe" as the Doctor had put it. She knew he was watching over her. Oh she knew. As much as he tried that Raggedy man couldn't keep away from her. It was almost as though he were like the protective older brother. Would show her the world and try to shelter her from it at the same time. She felt the TARDIS shudder beneath her feet. "We've landed then…" she muttered, picking Grace up in her arms and she carried the sleeping child out to the console room.

"Ready, Pond?" he looked over at her.

"No… but I have to be." she admitted.

The Doctor sighed softly and walked over to her, hugging her and being careful not to squash Grace. "She will be in safe hands once we step outside."

"How can you know that?" Amy asked.

"Because I brought someone here not so long ago…. She might even still be here actually.. I didn't go that far out of my timeline…" he rambled.

"Doctor, who was she?"

"My own daughter. But she had worse injuries. But I know she's safe here which is why I was able to leave her."

"We're not leaving Grace on her own."

"She won't need to be left." the Doctor assured her.

"Good…" Amy said and allowed him to lead her out of the TARDIS and into an area full of people going about their business.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Ariah-dot-delta-slash forty-thousand-and-forty-six, citizen of Caduceus. What seems to be the problem here?"

Amy turned around, looking down at a seemingly short, purple being wearing a while lab coat and clutching a clipboard.

"Ariah, my friend's daughter here has a tiny little problem we could use your assistance on." The Doctor grinned.

"If you could just follow me and I'll take you to a room where I can check the small-one over." Ariah smiled and started to walk off down a corridor.

Amy and the Doctor followed, Amy unable to stop looking around. The place they were in looked exactly like a normal hospital, thanks to Mels, she was far more used to hospitals than she should be. Hospitals and police cells.

Ariah took them to a flight of stairs and walked to the left, taking them through a door into a small box room but still had medical equipment nearby ready for use. Then Ariah took Grace from Amy and lay her down on the bed in the middle of the room and began to check her over. "Could I ask you to step out of the room?" she turned to Amy.

"No. No way." Amy told her forcefully.

"Amy. She needs to find out what is wrong with Grace." the Doctor said.

"I'm not leaving her."

"Amy you have to. You'll only be the other side of the door but you have to leave the room." the Doctor told her.

Amy stood still for a moment before sighing heavily and turning on her heel and walking out. She peered through the window as the door was closed on her, and she watched as Ariah turned to one of the machines, and as she punched something into the control panel, a white beam of light shone from the ceiling and swallowed Grace up. The light was so bright she had to step away and shield her eyes.

'_This better be worth it, Doctor or I swear I will kick your arse from here to Gallifrey and back again._' Amy thought darkly.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor took his chance to lead Amy away from the room. "Come on, Pond, you probably need some food after everything that's gone on." he told her.

Amy sighed heavily, she hadn't thought about food until he brought the subject up, now it was all she could think about. "Yeah…"

The Doctor lead her back down the corridor where they eventually came to a shop. "Oh! I love these places! A little shop, just what the doctor ordered." he grinned widely, dragging her inside.

Amy smiled softly. "Doctor, it's just a shop, what's so special about a shop?"

"A little shop does wonders for people. Trust me, Pond." The Doctor grinned.

Amy rolled her eyes, looking around the shop and proceeded to pick up some chocolate from a near by shelf, making her way to the till to pay for it.

"That'll be 4 credits." The young lad at the till said, looking at her.

Amy raised an eyebrow. "I don't have 4 credits."

"Here!" The Doctor bounded to her side and handed the boy over a stick-like object, and took it back once the chocolate was paid for. "Nearly five hundred credits on this." he grinned, waving it in Amy's face before putting it back in his pocket.

Amy just laughed. "Okay, let's go before you go all… you in this place again." she smiled and walked out, opening the bar of chocolate, broke a bit from it and ate it.

"There's nothing wrong with the way I act, Pond." The Doctor smiled and followed her out.

"No, of course not. It's perfectly natural for a grown man to be acting like a four-year-old in a sweet shop." she said sarcastically, laughing.

"Of course it is!" he spoke. He looked around and spotted a familiar face. "Stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

Amy just looked confused as he made his way over to a medical-looking creature talking to somebody by the far window. She wasn't sure if she should call them doctors or nurses , or even consultants just like she could tell on Earth.

After ten minutes, the Doctor came back over to her. "I want you to meet someone." he said, a smile back on his face once more.

"Who?" Amy looked up at him.

"Jenny." he answered and walked with her in the direction Jenny was obviously in.

"Who's that?" Amy rose an eyebrow at him again. "Doctor you're not making sense."

"Remember when I told you I left my daughter here?"

Amy nodded.

"Well her name's Jenny."

"Oh right.." Amy said slowly, and walked with him and stopped just a few feet away from him when he stopped outside a door.

The Doctor looked through the window. There she was. Bed three, looking exactly as she did when he left her, only with a little more colour in her face this time. He wondered how she would react to seeing him, since he looked different back then.

"Doctor? What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"Nothing…" The Doctor spoke quietly, though he didn't look at her.

Amy sighed and walked over, putting a hand on his arm. "Tell me."

"She might not recognise me. I've regenerated since I last saw her."

"Lost me again."

"When I last saw her, I looked completely different. But since then things have happened, I was dying and I changed. I said I didn't go too far out of my time line. But she might not recognise me. Not at first anyway."

"Well get in there and talk to her." Amy rolled her eyes at him.

The Doctor smiled and pushed open the door, causing the young blonde to look up from what she was reading to see who had come in.

"Hello?" Jenny spoke, looking confused. '_Who the hell are you?' _She thought.

"Just came to see how you are." The Doctor answered, watching her carefully.

"I'm fine." she answered, and looked back down to the book in her lap. After a few moments she looked back up again. "Was there something you wanted?"

"Now is that a tone to be using with me." The Doctor said, pretending to be firm, but he smiled.

Jenny just looked confused for a few more moments. Her brain slowly piecing everything together. "Do I know you?"

"Well you should do." The Doctor held up his hand and waved. "Hello!" he grinned. "Not scarred this time, see?"

Jenny looked at him again, her eyes wide with the realization. "But… what happened to you? Why do you look like that?"

"Why? I don't look bad do I?" The Doctor asked, panicking.

Amy just laughed from the doorway. "No, you idiot! She means why do you look different to when you saw her before. Just like you explained to me."

Jenny nodded silently, still looking at him.

"Well… I was dying, and because Time Lords have a way of cheating death, that's what happened. I regenerated. Now I look like this. And before you say anything, don't diss the bowtie. They are cool."

Jenny stayed silent while he spoke, taking it all in and then raised an eyebrow at his last comment. "Yeah whatever you say." she said dryly, smirking slightly. "I can go soon anyway."

The Doctor nodded, smiling. "That's good."

"What does Luke know?" she asked.

"Nothing much. Just that you're in here and you're being looked after."

"Staying clear of the whole 'at death's door' thing then?" Jenny looked at him.

"Yep." The Doctor nodded, then looked at Amy. "Don't stand there Pond you can come in."

Amy shrugged. "I'm fine here."

The Doctor walked over. "Grace will be fine. You just heard Jenny, she really was in a bad way but look at her. She's fine. And so will your daughter. Told you, I brought her to the best place that can help."

Amy nodded, smiling and allowed him to pull her into the room. "I'm Amy." she introduced herself to the young blonde. "He talks about you. A lot." she laughed.

"Oh great. All bad probably." Jenny smiled.

"Yeah course. My parents say the same about me." Amy joked.

The Doctor looked at them both, grinning.

"So what was actually wrong with you?" Amy asked, curiously.

"They're not telling me exactly what, but from what I gather, there was some kind of… harmful type of gas in the air and it didn't help the fact that I'm still healing on the inside from where I got shot."

The Doctor looked at her. "Still?"

"The bullet was still there. So… I was still healing, but still alive. Don't know how but that's what happened. It's gone now though."

"What so you just did what he did?" Amy looked confused.

"No. I actually don't know what happened that day. All I know is I woke up after he left and I haven't stopped running since. Well… till I ended up here anyway." Jenny spoke.

"You're an anomaly, Jenny." The Doctor smiled.

"Generated anomaly thank you very much. That _is_ how I got my name."

"Ah of course… Donna." The Doctor smiled. "Well, we'd better be going. Don't go running off anywhere."

"Got nowhere to run to." Jenny countered with a smirk, and watched the both of them leave the room.


	8. Author's Note

I seem to have lost my muse for this story... I hope to come back to it soon, but at the moment I'm afraid I can't :( I'm sorry guys! I appreciate all my reviewers and I love you all *loves*


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